Tentative Name - Zombie Knowledge 101
by Defty135
Summary: You might be wondering if this is just another zombie fanfic. Yes, but clichés like experimental error and radiation exposure are not the reasons for the outbreak. Instead, it is a *inaudible whisper* kind of thing. Do I have your interest now? Then keep reading buddy, cheers to you being one-step closer to zombie knowledge 101. Rated T for violent content. Multiple Chars. R&R! :)
1. The Calm Before the Z-storm

**_12 hours before outbreak – 2200_**

"Leo you gotta stop it man, my kills are all stolen by you and your M60."

"Captain Leo leading the team dude! You can't possibly rely on those retarded bots that looks at you while you are incapped and seeking for help to revive eh?"

"Ouch! Watch the friendly fire!"

"Sorry, I was just trying to kill the freaking jockey near you Percy. That friendly fire saved your ass from getting ridden on."

It was gaming night for Leo and Percy, as it is every Sunday night, and they just happened to play left4dead2 right before the outbreak. Timely, but of course they could not have predicted the outbreak, just like everyone else in Grand Olympus Hospital. Anyway, Leo and Percy are roommates in one of the apartments in the Zeus district. Leo works as a newbie fireman and Percy as a temporary lifeguard until he finds a better job offer. Both sharing a common interest in gaming, especially in first-person-shooter zombie games, they cliqued immediately when Percy first moved in. You can say that they are pretty 'into' the zombie killing thing because they had actually considered buying a real katana to be put on display in their apartment. It would have been perfect for them now, should they know what would happen next. Sadly, their wallets said no at that point of time. However, they still have the habit of storing canned food and drinks in preparation of a 'zombie apocalypse'.

"That was close man, almost didn't make it to the plane because of that stupid tank." Leo sighed in relief.

"To be fair, a smoker did get you at the last minute or so, which means you still did great though." Percy stood up from his computer chair and stretched his back. "Damn, can't believe we only took 30 minutes to finish this map."

Leo looked at the credits scene and gasped, "48% headshot dude, you are one crazy survivor. I only got a sad 29%."

"You got this Leo, but maybe after a little more practice." Percy chuckled and looked at the wall clock. "And do remember to shut the lights before you doze off, I shall head to dreamland first tonight."

Leo gave a thumbs up and continued to browse the web.

 ** _9 hours before outbreak – 0100_**

"You alright Nico? You seem pretty pale to me."

"I'm okay, Detective Grace. Can I help you?"

"Cold as usual, huh. Alright, I need the post-mortem report for that homicide case yesterday. You know, the one with the slash on the neck."

"Got it. Will pass it to you in a bit, got some toes left for examination."

"Thanks, but I'm off-duty in ten, so leaving it on the desk would be good if you don't see me there then."

"Will do, detective." Nico sighed and went to retrieve the corpse of the homicide from the storage. Background information, he works at the Zeus Police Department (ZPD) morgue as a medical examiner. Being the only man on the job, he was overwhelmed with the amount of corpses that were sent in every week. His mentor was on a month-long break and the new assistant was not due in two weeks. With his super fair complexion and dark eye circles, you might mistake him as one of the cases he is working on. Nonetheless, his shift is not over until six hours later, so he put on his latex gloves and continued the autopsy.

Two levels above the morgue was the ZPD working space, where files were piled up on almost every desk you see. In the corner of the room stationed the desk of Detective Thalia Grace. Unlike other desks, hers is arranged neatly in every order. Apart from a photo frame of her saluting with her brother in uniform, there were hardly other signs of non-work related items. Her colleagues gave her the nickname of 'hunter', due to the sheer number of cases she cracked immediately after her transfer to the homicide team of ZPD a few months ago. Furthermore, those who witnessed her training in the rifle range said that her firing is one of the best in the team. Quote, "She is definitely not an officer to be messed with."

By the time Nico finished his report, Thalia had already left the building. The medical examiner then carefully placed the report on her desk. As he was about to head back to the morgue, he took a glance at the photo frame and lamented about his own missing sister.

 ** _6 hours before outbreak – 0400_**

Along one of the beaches in the Zeus district, a group of friends were camping at the seashore this particular night. They had planned some late night fishing and skinny dipping just for the fun of it. Some of the guys reeled in their rods and compared their catches while sorting them out in the pail. Some were fast asleep in the trailer and others were swimming in the dark waters.

"These fish seems pretty decent for supper, don't they?"

"I agree, but are you sure it's safe to consume them? I mean, we don't have professional chefs here, do we?"

"Come on, don't be such a wuss. It's just fish. Let's go roast them by the fire."

 ** _3 hours before outbreak – 0700_**

"Doctor Solace, we need you down at A&E room 2 immediately. Car crash patient, several broken ribs and punctured lungs. Doctor Yew is handling another patient in the same crash in room 1, so we are kind of short-handed."

"Copy that, I'm on my way now."

Will Solace was about to knock off when he was summoned to the accident and emergency department. He had just finished treating three patients that suffered from puffer fish poisoning paralysis. However, every time he was needed at the A&E, he would not refuse even after hours as he believe that all lives deserves to be fought for. To his colleagues, he was well known for his angel-like personality and healing hands. Couple that with his sun-kissed skin and adorable freckles, there was always a trail of fangirling nurses behind him wherever he went. Upon changing into his surgical robes, the blond doctor rushed to A&E from his quarters.

* * *

On the other hand, police cordoned off the campsite that laid a corpse of an unfortunate teenager. Detective Thalia Grace stepped out of her Mercedes and headed towards the crime scene while putting on her lanyard.

"Monday blues indeed. Okay, what have we got here?"

Nico, who had arrived earlier to conduct the initial autopsy looked up from the corpse. "Time of death approximately 0453. Victim suspected to have died from food poisoning, though there appears to be heavy damage dealt to the head post-mortem." He then pointed to the hole that pierced through the victim's head. "Clearly a knife was stabbed into his head and removed after, but I need to get the body back to the morgue for further examination."

"Detective Grace, we found this knife abandoned about 5 metres from the victim."

"Great, send it to the lab to have it analysed." She rustled her jet black hair and pointed to the victim's head. "Nico, any idea why the corpse has several patches of missing hair?"

The medical examiner pondered for a while and replied with uncertainty, "It does not seem to have been intentionally pulled out. Instead, the hair appears to have dropped naturally. He could have suffered from Alopecia Areata. But like I said, I need it at the morgue to determine the cause."

"Detective Grace, we have got three patients suspected to be friends of the victim at the Grand Olympus Hospital. They just got treated from puffer fish poisoning."

"Nicely done. Look around for more clues and update me if any witnesses come forth. I'll be at the hospital."


	2. Shit Just Got Real

**_1 hour before outbreak – 0900_**

"Good morning from Channel HB News, I am Piper McLean, your news anchor for this morning. Starting off with some local news. A teenager was found dead along Thunder Beach of Zeus district in the wee hours of today. Police stated that while the actual cause of death appeared to be food poisoning, they did not rule out foul play as a possible scenario. Witnesses who wish to provide information to the case, please contact the Zeus Police Department –"

A blonde lady with stormy grey eyes switched off her television and prepared to head out for work. Annabeth Chase is an ambitious architect who had just scored her biggest project in handling a museum design, for the rebuilding of the Imperial Zeus Museum. After working in the field for a couple years, she was absolutely certain that none of her industry competitors could outdo her in terms of structural design and sturdiness. I mean, she did not graduate from the finest architecture school of the whole of Olympus for nothing. More impressively, she managed to do so by graduating in 3 years instead of 4. Today is the day for her to submit the blueprint and nothing is going to stop her from succeeding. Perhaps maybe the zombie apocalypse, but she definitely did not see that coming. Wearing her Louboutin stilettos, she stepped out of her apartment building with bags of blueprints for the project.

 ** _15 minutes before outbreak – 0945_**

"Thank you so much for staying back Will, you managed to save yet another precious life."

"Don't worry about it Michael, it's a doctor's duty. You would have done the same."

The doctors who finished operating on the car crash victims were having their morning coffee in the hospital canteen. The operations went successfully although it took a slightly longer time than usual due to prickly circumstances. Either way, the two doctors have added another life on their saving list.

"I think I should check on the poisoned patients before I go. They seemed really weak." Will said in a concerned tone as he finished his cup of joe.

Michael made a time out signal with his hands, "I will check on them for you, you should go home and sleep. I insist."

Will laughed and patted Michael's back as they parted ways at the lobby. Little did he know that this was the last time he saw his favourite colleague, as a human of course.

* * *

Sipping her morning tea, Thalia Grace was so engrossed in the files regarding the latest homicide case that she missed out a text from her bestie Annabeth. Only when someone called her phone did she realise that she had an unread message from an hour ago.

' _Hey Thalia, just wanted to let you know that my neighbour's house went full on crazy yesterday with crockery shattering at around 5 plus in the morning. They were a sweet loving young couple so this seems out of the ordinary, maybe you could get your guys to check it out? Oh, and I swear that I heard moans and groans as I left the house, as if they left The Walking Dead on or something. Thanks for the help and I'll meet you soon. Miss you.'_

"The Walking Dead huh? Interesting analogy she used there." She picked up her desk phone and dialled in her colleague's number.

"Zoe, do you mind checking out Building 52, unit 6B for me? My friend said that she noted something unusual from that unit. Let me know if anything happens. Thanks."

 ** _30 minutes after outbreak – 1030_**

"Shit, shit, shit. It's freaking happening." Leo panicked as he walked in circles around the living room. He had muted the television and all other sound producing items in his apartment. Despite being temporarily safe in the 21st floor of the building, he could not help being worried about the zombies that he saw live on TV. It was his off day and he was planning to head to Percy's workplace for a swim, when he witnessed the whole outbreak on air. Immediately, he pushed his heavy furniture to block the front door, as well as tall cabinets and wardrobes to barricade the windows. To make things worse, Leo had tried to contact Percy multiple times but it all went to voice mail instead. He could only hope that Percy had escaped as far as possible from the hospital, since his workplace is quite near the area. Trying to calm himself down, the fireman took a deep breath and started to formulate a survival plan.

"Okay, what have I learnt from all the zombie games and TV shows?" He went on a quick memory trip and jotted down the supposed tips and essentials. "Weapons. Food. Drinks. Medical supplies. Clothes. Alright, time to search the house."

With some much needed speed, Leo took out the camping bag that he used during his college days and began to pack his survival kit. He went to the kitchen and retrieved all the sharp tools he could find, including a meat cleaver and some medium sized knives. Next, he collected as many canned food and drinks as he could and wrapped them in his clothes. This would minimise the noise coming from the cans if they hit each other in the bag. He then removed the medical supplies from the first aid kit and stuffed them into the bag's bottom compartment. Just when he thought that he was done, Leo suddenly remembered the alcohols that he and Percy kept in the cupboard beside the fridge. Swiftly, he cut some rags and stuffed them in his back pocket. After putting the alcohol bottles in his bag, he decided to stuff the bottle of cooking oil inside as well. Last but not least, he slid a box of matches into his jeans' left pocket. Just then, he saw his phone flashing with Percy's caller ID and picked it up immediately.

"Oh my god! Percy, thank goodness you're still alive!" Leo exclaimed while tears of joy started forming at his eyes. "Where the heck are you?"

" _Leo, I'm making my way up our apartment from the stairs. I guess we have about 10 minutes before the first zombie reaches here. It was a freaking close shave at the stadium and shit–"_

"Wait what? Percy?"

* * *

"The patient started attacking the nurse?"

" _Yes Ma'am. I was heading to the patient's room when I saw the patient lunged at the nurse. I thought he was just being violent but when I took a closer look, his face had changed completely, like – like a zombie. I asked him to raise his hands but he tried to attack me instead, so I shot him in the chest and…"_

"And what?"

 _"…And he kept advancing so I ended up shooting him in the head. The reporters who arrived saw me shoot the patient and they were recording live apparently…"_

"Where is your exact location now? I will send back-ups to pull you out immediately."

" _Thank you Ma'am, but…please evacuate everyone in Zeus district instead. I have been bitten by another patient who pounced on me while I was talking to the reporters…I have no idea how many people were infected as of now, but the hospital is in chaos. The reporters were dead and I've locked myself in the handicapped toilet."_

"Hang in there Phoebe, I'll be right there." Thalia assured as she choked back a sob.

 _"It's okay Ma'am. It's been a pleasure to work as your assistant…but it's time for me to go now. Sorry for not being able to assist you anymore. Stay safe, Thalia – *gunshot*"_

The cool façade of Thalia Grace disappeared entirely after hearing her assistant's last words. She no longer cared about the tough image she portrayed as her tears rolled off her cheeks onto the desk. With her trembling hand, she hurriedly dialled the number of Zoe Nightshade. But, her worst fears came true when there was no answer after multiple calls. Even though her wrenched heart told her to give up, her mind encouraged her with the final moments of Phoebe's demise, to stay safe. She knows that her assistants would not want her to give in just like that. After collecting herself, she wiped the tears off with her leather jacket and instructed her colleagues at ZPD to assist with the district-wide evacuation.

"Remember, saving the people is our priority, unless there is an immediate threat to yourself. Only then, should you retreat." The detective donned her bulletproof vest and loaded her Glock 22. With a face of determination, Thalia Grace stepped out of the ZPD building and headed towards the hospital.

"Shoot them right in the head guys."


	3. Escape Plan? Failed

**_Present-time_**

The architect sat in the shotgun seat of a BMW, recovering from the near-death experience she had half an hour ago. She finally revealed her voice ever since she first boarded the car. "The name's Annabeth. Thank you for letting me board your car or else I would have been dead by now. By the way, you are a great news anchor."

"Thank you for your kind words Annabeth, I'm flattered. But I would be unemployed for quite a while, at least until this mess is over." Piper McLean responded as she made a turn to the left, towards the road that led them to the district nearest to Zeus. "Hera district is just across this stretch of road. I sure hope the 'infection' or whatever you guys call it have yet to plague the area." She exhaled deeply and looked at the rear mirror. "What about you doctor? You feeling better?"

Sitting in the passenger seat in the back of the BMW is none other than everyone's favourite doctor, Will Solace. Earlier, he had just stepped out of the convenient store near his apartment when a faint gunshot was heard from the hospital's direction. As it is, his apartment is just one street away from the hospital, which makes it _very_ near to the outbreak location. Not long after, people were flocking towards his direction with anguished and shocked expressions plastered on their faces. More gunshots were heard and Will knew something was amiss. As if affirming his suspicions, a body crashed out of the hospital window and dropped onto one of the cars parked by the side of the road. The impact set off the car's alarm in a blaring loud siren.

"Oh no. Isn't this my patient from just now?" Will murmured. He scanned the condition of the patient and wild thoughts ran through his mind in a mess. _What is going on with his face? Why is he missing patches of hair? Why did he fall off the hospital building?_ The doctor eventually snapped back to reality when the patient tried flailing its arm in a vain attempt to grab another victim. In absolute shock, Will ran away from the crowd and headed mindlessly towards a side alley. He stumbled onto the main road through the alley and almost got knocked over by the exact BMW he is sitting in right now. Lucky for him, Piper is an alert driver. Unluckily for him, there are a few half-turned zombies hot on their wheels. The kind driver signalled for him to hop on quickly and voila, an hour later, they were on their way out of Zombie Zeus District.

Still recovering from shock though some time had passed, Will replied shakily. "Ye-yeah…I'm fine. Thanks for letting me board when you're in a precarious situation yourself." He looked at the backseat windscreen, apparently still cautious about the zombies he witnessed earlier. "Those things are horrible. My patient was fine when I left the hospital…but he became one of them in just a short while…I can't believe it."

"Neither can us, doctor." Annabeth responded with a tone of despair. "I was supposed to present to my big client today, but I guess it's all down the drain from here." Closing her eyes, she thought about Thalia who was working near the hospital. "I wonder if my friend's okay. She works at ZPD."

Trying to liven the atmosphere, Piper reassured the blonde architect. "She'll be fine. As an officer, she has guns with her right? And I'm pretty sure your friend can work out the best course of action."

"I sure hope so. But yeah, she's a tough nut to crack."

"Um…guys. I don't think it's a great idea to crossover this road." Will pointed to a figure wandering in an odd fashion at the border of the districts. "Hera's not spared from the plague either."

* * *

 _Props to his ended shift, Nico was elated to not return to the morgue after the crime scene inspection. In fact, he was all snuggled up in his bed for a comfortable rest. That was when he received a message from Thalia telling him to get out of the district immediately. He was contemplating if that was her idea of a joke, because the message went like this._

 _'Zombie outbreak. Get out of here now!'_

 _Recalling that she was not a joker to begin with, Nico trusted her message and packed his belongings as quickly as he could. He grabbed the longest item he could find in his apartment and treated it as a temporary weapon. It was an ivory staff that he bought on eBay as he found the design intricately beautiful. The name Diocletian's Sceptre sounded powerful as well, which catalysed his online purchase decision. Anyway, he was making his way down the stairs when a moving figure caught his attention. Watchfully, he held up his staff like a baseball bat and lightened his footsteps. As the figure continued to make its way up the stairs, Nico heard a talking voice. At least he is a human. However, he figured that a normal person should be getting out of town instead of coming back to his apartment. And especially so in times like this. Hiding at the turning point of the stairwell, he held his breath and made a silent countdown to 3. When the figure appeared, Nico whacked his staff with all his might._

 _"Shit!" Percy cried out as he shielded his face from the sudden attack. In that moment of surprise, he dropped his phone onto the floor. When he looked at the face of the perpetrator, his rage turned into relief. Nico was his neighbour from several floors below._

 _With widening pupils and an increasing heartbeat, Nico apologised in astonishment. "I'm so sorry Percy! I thought you were an up-to-no-good person."_

 _"Shush. We ought to keep our voices low." Percy whispered as he lifted a finger to his mouth. "So, I assume you know what's going on now right?"_

 _Staring at the lifeguard's face, the medical examiner suddenly lost his ability to speak._

 _"Hello? Nico to Earth?" Percy said as he snapped his fingers._

 _"Oh…oh right. Yes...unfortunately, I do."_

 _"Okay, we're going to survive this. I'm going to my apartment to get Leo and other necessary supplies. We'll then figure a way out of this place." He took a quick glance at his trustworthy G-shock. "Not much time left before it gets difficult to leave. Wanna tag along? Three is definitely better than one."_

And so, 2 hours after the outbreak, Leo, Percy and Nico are now closer to Hera district than ever. They managed to drive out before the road got congested with more cars and zombies. However, luck is not with them here either. As they were nearing the end of the road, a black BMW materialised in front of them with some incredible speed. Manoeuvring the stirring wheel furiously, Percy swerved to the left and almost crashed into a lamp post. Thanks to the reflexes of both drivers, a collision was narrowly avoided.

Feeling the after-effects of inertia, Percy knocked his head against the driver's seat. "Damn the bumpy road man, I freaking hate blind spots. Thank god for seat belts too."

"Geez, no zombies could drive that fast." Leo mumbled as he rubbed his aching neck. "I think we should check out the culprits, and give them a scolding while we're at it." He opened the compartment in front of the passenger seat and took out his meat cleaver. "Let's get down to business."


	4. New Faces, New Places

Stepping out of their white Toyota, the trio approached the other vehicle gingerly, with weapons clenched tight in their hands. Leo wielded his meat cleaver, Nico his Diocletian Sceptre, and Percy with a crowbar. Moving closer, they spotted three human beings clambering out of the smoking vehicle, each of them coughing terribly because of the exhaust fumes. Apparently, that vehicle was not as fortunate and collided into a lamp post at the other end of the roadside. Noticing that all of them donned business attires, the trio decided that they do not pose much of a threat.

"Are you guys alright?" Percy asked from afar, his crowbar still in an offensive position.

The first person to recover from the accident was the architect. Despite feeling unwell due to the smoke, her defensive instinct took over as she removed her Louboutin and held it up as a weapon. Holding onto the car handle for support, Annabeth stood up unsteadily and replied. "Do you _really_ think we are alright?"

"Sorry for the mess, guys." Piper coughed out as the fumes irritated her throat. "And no, we are not alright."

Feeling rather guilty for the mess he co-created, Percy offered his help sheepishly to the BMW trio. "Do you guys need medical attention? I mean we do have a medical examiner here. And some supplies too, if it helps."

"For the twentieth time, Percy, I work with dead people." Nico muttered under his breath.

Will, who was momentarily confused due to knocking his head against the window, shook his head and stood up groggily. He quickly scanned his fellow passenger and driver and concluded that they were all unhurt. "That's nice to hear, but I think we're good. I work in the medical field too, as a doctor."

Amidst the commotion, nobody seemed to realise that fuel is leaking out of the branded car. Nobody except Leo, who has a third eye for things that contribute to being fire hazards. This 'ability' was partly because of his job as a fireman, but mostly due to the fire incident that took his mum away from him eternally when he was a child. That was also the reason why he chose to become a fireman in the first place, despite holding a degree in engineering.

"We need to move, now! The car is gonna explode soon!" Slotting the cleaver by the side of his belt, Leo ran towards the three new acquaintances. Nico and Percy followed suit and assisted in getting them back to their Toyota.

"It's a little cramp at the back, but do bear with it for a while." Nico mentioned as he helped Will into the passenger seat.

As Percy supported Annabeth, she told him about their futile attempt to escape into Hera.

"So…you mean that there's no place left that is safe from the infection?" Percy asked in disbelief while settling into the driver's seat.

Annabeth answered with obvious hesitation. "We are not entirely sure. But seeing that Hera is also affected by the plague, it is highly possible that all the other districts have succumbed to it as well."

Leo, who is still keeping his eyes on the damaged vehicle, encouraged Percy to drive them towards the forestation for temporary shelter. "The explosion is going to draw zombies to this area, and we should definitely avoid the city area because of the population reasons."

Piper seconded the idea and suggested that they should set up camp somewhere near the river. With full consensus among the newly formed survival group, Percy geared up towards the famous half-blood forest located in the north-west of Zeus. Like a typical Hollywood movie scene, the damaged vehicle burst into flames as the Toyota drove off in search of their potential safe haven.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Jupiter district, a handsome young policeman crouched silently behind a café counter. He wore a bulletproof vest and held a magnum pistol in his hands. A police baton was tucked in his working belt, along with a set of handcuffs, a Taser gun and a walkie-talkie. Some blood had matted his blond hair against his temple, but other than that he was unharmed. A muscular man in sports attire crouched beside the blond police, with the name 'Frank Zhang' sewn onto the shirt he wore. He carried with him an impressive set of bow and arrows, with one already nocked onto the bowstring. When the policeman pointed at the target in front of the entrance, Frank shifted into position and fired. The victim thudded onto the ground, a blood soaked arrow sticking through her head.

"That's the last one for now. Let's search the area."

"Frank, we should get moving. More may come through any time now."

The archer plucked the arrow out of the fallen zombie and washed it at the sink. "Jason, we need supplies. We can't just go out like that without any food and drinks in our possession. Trust me, we'll not last longer than 3 days for sure." Seeing the unconvinced look on his friend's face, he sped up his search around the cabinets. "Just give me 2 minutes."

Still maintaining his guarded posture, Jason kept looking back and forth between the door and the windows. "My friend's weapon shop is not far from here. If we can make it there in less than 10 minutes, she said that she will let us in."

After stuffing some bottled water into his duffel bag, Frank replied without looking as he continued to scavenge the cabinets. "How did you even manage to contact her? Both of your phones still working?"

"We managed to get the message through before the signal got cut off abruptly. The telecomm employees must have been infected by then. You ready to scoot?"

"Just a second…okay, I'm good." Frank answered as he zipped up his duffel bag.

Upon checking that the coast was cleared, the duo speedily made their way to the weapon shop that Jason mentioned.

* * *

 _After arriving at the outside of the hospital with her team of colleagues, they got distracted by the crowd that came rushing out of the lobby. The deafening alarm from one of the cars did not help the situation either. Hoping to control the situation before it goes entirely wild, Thalia grabbed a speaker from the police car and shouted for the crowd to stay calm. However, the appearance of a special infected spoilt her plans as it grabbed onto a victim at the foot of the lobby staircase. Instead of moving slowly like a normal zombie should, it possessed the ability to run. When it heard Thalia's voice emitting from the speaker, it came rushing in her direction at 1.5x the speed of a normal infected. Dropping the speaker and picking up her Glock 22, she aimed at the head of the incoming zombie and fired. The zombie dropped dead, or rather dropped un-undead on the floor a metre away from her._

 _"What on earth is this?" Thalia grunted as she examined the zombie she just killed._

 _"Detective Grace, I think we should get going. This place is a lost cause." One of her colleagues requested in fear._

 _Looking at the similar expressions of her other colleagues, Thalia figured that it was not worth to put anyone in danger. Even though they work as police officers, their lives are not cheaper than any other people of other occupations. People tend to not notice the efforts put into this job, but Thalia definitely did, because she appreciates them._

 _"Good luck guys, I hope to see every one back on the team when this is over." Thalia announced wistfully as she entered her Mercedes, with sorrow visibly projected in her eyes._

In present time, she was driving north-west to the same forest that the rest are heading to. Not that she knew about the others' plan to start a camp at the area, but because of the little cottage that she bought last year for her retirement in the future. Who knew that retirement would come this early for a 27 year old?


	5. Everybody Lock and Loaded

**A/N: Okay, so right now you guys must be thinking,** ** _'oh what a plot convenience for Thalia to have a cottage in the middle of a forest as a safe house',_** **but in this story, Thalia is a forward looking independent lady who plans for retirement early and I doubt there is anything wrong with that. I even think that this is something that we should learn from her. Alright, back to the story.**

"They're late. They must have encountered some of them on the way here." Reyna panicked as she paced around her shop. Jason was supposed to be here ten minutes ago. While waiting, she had made sure that the front shutters were tightly shut, with the only entrance being the back door located at the rear of the storage room. As of now, it was locked up as well to prevent intruders. By intruders, it meant both the living and the undead.

"You don't think that they're gone, do you?"

Refusing to believe in that possibility, Reyna shot an irritated glare to the lady sitting behind her counter. "No. They will survive. They have to. Perhaps we should clear the perimeter for them." She answered firmly as she attached a silencer to her sniper rifle. "Choose a weapon for yourself too. You can't kill them with words, you know."

Getting off the wooden chair, Hazel Levesque began browsing the wall for the different types of rifles and shotguns. She picked out an AK-47 but felt that it was too heavy for her liking. Reyna chimed in saying that the recoil from the AK is relatively strong, even for her. She advised Hazel to get something that is easier on the arms, considering that she had no prior experiences in gun handling. Heeding the owner's recommendation, Hazel turned her attention to the display case that contained an assorted range of handguns. After looking through the display a couple more times, she still could not decide which one to take with her. That was when Reyna emerged from the storage room with a spatha and handed it to her.

"Where did you get this?" Hazel asked in amazement as she weighed the spatha in her hands. The melee weapon felt perfect for her size when she tried slashing it in the air. "It looks very ancient to me."

"It's considered a family heirloom I suppose. From what my mum told me, my ancestry goes all the way back to the Roman Empire."

"And you're handing your heirloom to me? No way, Reyna. I cannot accept this."

"Just take it already Levesque. I have another heirloom sword at the back if it makes you feel better. I'd rather you use this than leaving it here and never seeing it again."

She proceeded to take out two light brown rucksacks from the metal cupboard by the wall and tossed one of it to Hazel. "Magazines and shotgun shells are in the boxes below the counter. Stuff as many as you can into the bag. I don't think we'll be coming back here once we leave."

Instead of springing into action, Hazel froze and whispered to her friend. "Wait, I think I hear noises coming from the back."

Reyna picked up her sniper rifle from the counter top and threaded carefully into the storage room. Hazel followed closely behind, advancing quietly while gripping her new weapon.

* * *

"That's Thalia's car, I can't be wrong. She must have made it here!" Annabeth's face brightened at the prospect of seeing her friend again. She pointed to the silver Mercedes that was parked at the end of the forest trail. There were signs of scratches and bloodstains along the metal body, but she was certain that the vehicle belonged to her bestie.

"Or, it could have been stolen by other survivors. Worst case scenario, she might have already tur–"

"Thank you for your input, Leo." Piper shut the fireman before he sprouts anymore nonsense. "The atmosphere of the forest is bad enough since the darkness is starting to set in. We should check it out before jumping to conclusions."

"Hold on, we need a plan before heading out there like this." Percy suggested as he stopped his Toyota to a decent 10 metres away from the other car. "One thing for sure, we need to arm ourselves. Have you all got any weapons?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and replied sarcastically. "If heels could kill then yes, Piper and I do have weapons. But if they couldn't, then no."

With growing hostility in his voice, Percy furrowed his brows and retorted. "You don't have to be so prickly, I'm just asking here right? Suit yourself if you want to loiter around the area barehanded."

The good doctor tried to ease the increasing tension between the two leader-like figures. "Take a step back, Annabeth, please. And Percy, I believe that we do not possess any weapons, since we left town in a hurry."

"Okay, Nico, do you mind getting our bag of weapons? We could distribute the knives. Leo, you know the drill."

The medical examiner exited the car with his sceptre and checked the surroundings before he removed the bags from the boot. Leo, who knew the drill from playing co-op games, got out of the car with his cleaver to cover Nico.

When Leo waved through the back windscreen, the passengers began filing out of the car. Gradually they gathered around the boot to collect their weapons. Percy, however, remained in the car to keep an eye on the Mercedes for any movements. Leo managed to dig out 2 kitchen knives from his camping bag, while Nico only found a hairspray and a lighter. The weapons were then laid out on the grass for distribution.

"People, we have a problem here." Leo stated while scratching his head. "We only have 2 medium sized knives and a rather weak flamethrower available. How are we going to divide them?"

"I'll take the knife." Annabeth said as she picked it up from the ground. "Close enough for a dagger."

"You alright if I take the other knife, Will?" Piper asked politely.

The doctor nodded his head in response and handed the knife to the news anchor. "Go ahead, Piper. I'm more of a medic support role, not really one for attacking. Unless there's a set of bow and arrows, I don't think I can provide much help with any other weapons."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow with newfound admiration. "Wow, that's new information to us."

"Haven't got a chance to mention it, that's all. I used to play for my school's archery team."

"We're all set then." Annabeth stated as she looked around the forest. "We'll need the flashlights if you have them with you, it's getting dark soon."

Leo removed two flashlights out of his bag. "Got them right here, who's carrying it?"

* * *

 _With the gun in her right hand and a mini torchlight clenched between her teeth, Thalia opened the door of the cottage carefully. The last time she had been here was about two months ago, where she stashed some belongings here as her current room ran out of storage space. She had not told anyone about this place's existence, not even her closest friend Annabeth nor her brother. In order to prevent anyone from sneaking into her second home, she had installed CCTVs around the house which could be viewed real-time via her smartphone. Motion sensors were also set up and connected to her phone, but they were unfortunately triggered by wild animals a couple of times. That aside, there has not been any event of human trespassers._

 _The little remains of ray left from the setting sun creeped slowly into the cottage through the open door. Thalia flipped the switch on the wall near the entrance and the light bulb replaced the room with bright yellow beams. Her police instincts kicked in as she inspected the rooms with swift and cautious movements. Thankfully, she is the only being around. Apart from the living room, the cottage consist of one other bedroom with a connecting bathroom, as well as an open space kitchen beside it._ _A mini staircase by the front door led up to a tiny attic for storage._ _Since she bought the place with the intention of living alone, the living quarters seemed just right for a single tenant. After checking the conditions of the taps and circuits, she went back to her car and transferred whatever belongings she could find in the boot to the cabin._

* * *

"Jesus, can you guys be any less discreet?" Reyna scowled as she unlocked the back entrance to her weapon shop.

"Hi there," the muscular guy said awkwardly, "I heard from Jason that your name is Reyna. I'm Frank by the way, not Jesus."

Unamused by the not-sure-if-intentional-or-unintentional pun, Reyna ignored his introduction and went on to give Jason a hug. "You were late, I was planning to head out to find you."

"Sorry it took a while, the outbreak is spreading faster than I thought." Jason explained and took a gulp of water from the mineral bottle that Reyna handed to him. "We were almost trapped in an alley flooded with zombies after we tried to take a shortcut from the café. Thank god we managed to back track before they shifted their attention to us."

The shop owner shook her head in disapproval after hearing their attempt at the alley shortcut. "You should have known better than to try your luck at a narrow alleyway. That's where bad things happen most frequently, and especially so in our current situation." Reyna nagged while pulling out a set of metal arrows from beneath the counter. "Frank, you can have these. It's a pity that I cannot offer more as my restock is only coming in next week. Not anymore though."

Frank's eyes widened in surprise as he examined the arrows. "Please don't say that Reyna, I really appreciate that you are even willing to gift them to me. These are really top quality arrows that I have been eyeing for a while now."

"Don't mention it. I would really love to see them in action instead of gathering dust in this soon-to-be vacant shop. Anyway, I suggest that we stay here for the night seeing that daylight is almost fully gone by now."

Hazel, who has been quietly listening to the exchanges, agreed with Reyna. However, her empty stomach chimed in with the agreement as it growled loud enough for the remaining trio to hear. Flushed from embarrassment, Hazel pressed onto her stomach and asked shyly for some food to suppress her hunger.


	6. Apollo-calypse

"Okay guys, here's the plan. I will take the lead in front and Leo will cover the back. Annabeth will walk between us in single file as we need her to talk to Thalia, you know just in case she comes out with a gun pointed at us. Piper, Will and Nico, I need you guys to stay and guard the car from unwanted beings and at the same time be ready to drive us off in a minute's notice. Everyone clear?"

"You got it Percy." Leo answered confidently on the outside but immediately went on to calm his nervous inner self down. _This is not a game, Leo. There is no restart to it so you better get your shit together._

The rest of the crew unanimously agreed with the plan and split into the two groups accordingly. Piper settled into the driver's seat and started the engine while Nico and Will got into the back. All three of them kept their eyes on the surroundings in high alert. Percy clenched onto the crowbar and made his way warily to the cottage. Annabeth followed closely behind in her bare feet, with the knife held firmly in her right hand and the flashlight in her left. She had decided to remove her heels to increase her movement speed, even to the extent of ripping the slits of her pencil skirt to mid-thigh length for running purposes. Leo trailed behind her with his cleaver and monitored the area for potential threats.

They were halfway past the Mercedes when a figure emerged from the cottage in hunter gear. Annabeth quickly turned off the flashlight as Percy signalled for them to stay close to the Mercedes in a bid to camouflage themselves in the darkness. With the aid of the light from the cottage, Annabeth thought that the outline of the figure resembles Thalia, but the distance made it difficult for her to be sure. At that moment, an arrow landed right beside Leo's foot with a thud, narrowly missing it by just a few inches. The figure ensued to taunt the trio, "My next shot will be fatal unless you guys reveal yourselves. That way, there might still be a chance for negotiation."

With the voice as a final note of confirmation, Annabeth dropped her knife and shot right up from her position. "Thalia, it's me, Annie!"

* * *

"See what I told you Jason, it's good that I spent some time to search the place. Otherwise, dust would be our menu for tonight's dinner." Frank said as he emptied his loot from the café onto the floor. "That's all that I managed to sweep from the café. It's not much but it's something."

Reyna scanned through the items that Frank produced from his duffel bag and began to segregate them. There were 5 bottles of mineral water, 2 small packets of coffee beans, 2 sets of sandwiches wrapped in aluminium foil, 2 burritos, 1 tiramisu in a jar and 3 packets of chocolate chip cookies.

"Good news is, we probably would have enough for 3 days maximum if we limit our intake. Bad news is, most of these are quick perishables and would probably go foul by tonight without refrigeration. So, Mr Police, how should we ration these items?" When Jason did not respond, she realised that he is busily fidgeting with his walkie-talkie in the storage room. "Jason? Jason Grace!" Reyna called out to him a couple more times before the blond finally met her eyes and gave her a 'shush' signal.

"Listen to this," Jason whispered as he walked carefully to where the group was sitting and tuned the walkie-talkie up a little for them to hear. "I managed to tweak the communicator to all the districts, but most of them were just static except for Apollo."

 _Zzz…zzz…p-people…h-hear this message, Apollo…spared from the plague…t-to erect barriers…t-the district before…z-zombie…c-close…c-calling out…d-doctors and scientists ONLY…r-repeat…doctors and scientists…password to enter…o-octavian…zzz…zzz_

Reyna narrowed her eyes after hearing the last of the message. "I know what you are thinking Jason, but they are only accepting doctors and scientists. I don't think we will be allowed in even if we get there."

"She is right, moreover it is easier to navigate ourselves if we stick to our current group size." Frank agreed while eyeing the rations on the ground. Hunger is claiming its second victim of the crew. "How about we leave any decisions after dinner?"

Looking at the worn out Hazel and Frank, Jason decided to postpone his debate with Reyna till the next morning and proceeded to distribute the food items.

* * *

"Annabeth!" Thalia hollered in disbelief and ran forward to hug her best friend. "I'm so glad that you made it!"

The architect blinked away the tears that were forming in her eyes. "Me too Thalia, me too. I'm glad that I made it." Annabeth giggled as she released the hug.

"Seriously Annabeth, since when did you become such a joker? Couldn't believe you said that." Thalia laughed and hit her friend lightly on the shoulders. "How did you even find me here? I didn't recall telling you about this place."

"And you have the cheek to tell me that? I thought we were besties, Thalia Grace." Annabeth responded in mock anger. "Actually, we were planning on camping it out in the forest to avoid both human and zombie crowds. It was really sheer luck that we chanced upon this cottage." She then pointed to the Mercedes where Percy and Leo were standing at. "Never in my dreams would I expect to see you here, if not for the car you always fetched me to work with."

"I see. Anyway, really happy to see you unscathed." Thalia gazed at the duo by her Mercedes and then shifted her eyes to the white car parked further down the path. "I guess some introductions are in place?"

The blonde gestured for the rest of the crew to come forward. Upon seeing the signal, Piper drove the Toyota forward and stopped just beside Thalia's car. Once the items from the boot were removed, Piper locked the car and threw the keys back to Percy. He caught it with his left hand and gave Leo a pat on his back. The fireman who had just recovered from the shock of almost losing his feet, bent over and pulled the arrow out of the ground and headed towards the cabin with the rest.

"Hey Detective Grace, good to see you again." Nico stated when he saw Thalia up close.

Genuinely amazed to see her fellow colleague, Thalia expressed her relief and stepped forward to give him a hug. "Oh gosh, Nico. Glad you got my message before all transmissions got cut off."

With heartfelt gratitude, Nico returned the hug even though he usually refused all forms of physical contact with people. "Thank you for doing so."

"Hi, I'm Leo. The guy whom you almost fired an arrow into 5 minutes ago." Leo joked as he introduced himself.

"The keyword is _almost_ , so I doubt I owe you an apology. Seeing that you guys were trying to stealth into my house, I believe I do have the rights to defend it."

Leo pondered. "Hmm, I guess you're right."

"Anyway, let's get inside. The quarters are pretty obvious as this is a small place. We'll discuss about our next steps of survival after everyone is done washing up."

* * *

In the heavily barricaded Apollo district, a dirty blond male sat victoriously on the Mayor's seat with closed eyes and smiling lips. Just a few weeks ago during his election phase, he had foretold to his residents that destruction would soon be brought onto the other districts. Now that his 'prediction' came true, everyone in town widely praised their newly appointed Mayor and pledged their loyalty to him.

"Mayor Octavian, you were right about the apocalypse. Right now, what should we do with the waves of refugees from other districts?"

The Mayor opened his eyes and revealed his cold blue irises. "I'd prefer _Sir_ Octavian." He smirked. "Tell the front line guards to ensure only doctors and scientists are allowed in. Have them checked thoroughly for any signs of infections as well before granting them access to the shelter area. If normal citizens with tradeable items wants to be let in, talk to my assistant Lawrence. He will have the final call. Other than that, useless civilians shall be strictly turned away."


End file.
